KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2010 / SPORTS
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With pitchers exhausted, Jayhawks face a challenge
BY ANDREW HAMMOND
EW
ahammond@kansan.com
With the Jayhawks in the middle of one of their longest stretches of the season, Kansas' pitching staff is going to be tested in the days to come.
It all starts with a one game match-up against Missouri State today. Coach Ritch Price said he anticipated putting nine Kansas pitchers on the mound.
"Our starting pitching has to improve; we've gotten a quality start. We can't struggle like this or it's going to catch up to us." Price said.
The Kansas pitching staff will face a Missouri State squad that struggles at the plate, which could be a blessing for a tired pitching staff after the Baylor series.
The layhawks will have the task of stopping a Missouri State team that is hitting 262 Kansas pitch.
that is hitting 202. Kansas pitchers, meanwhile, are holding the
opposition to 4.67 runs per game and a batting average of .267.
sure that has been heavily used in the past five days.
"We're going to give some guys rest," Price said.
Yet Price said that Kansas would use nine pitchers to aid a pitching
One of those heavily-used pitchers is senior Brett Bochy, Kansas'
"We can't struggle like this or it's going to catch up to us."
"You won't see Bochy," Price said. "We're saving him for the weekend series."
Pitching was the Jayhawks' calling card to start the season. But in recent games, Kansas' arms have cooled down.
closer. Bochy pitched six innings in Kansas' victory against Baylor Sunday.
The Jayhawks have scored eight or more runs in the last four games, but have allowed an average of 5.5 runs per game. It's a trend that
RITCH PRICE Coach
troubles Price,
even after only one series in the
Big 12.
innings, allowing seven hits, three walks and one strikeout.
In Tuesday's 9-8 victory a g a i n s t A r k a n s a - Little Rock, Kansas' starting f r e s h m a n Thomas Taylor, threw four
"In our first 12 games, we had 10 quality starts and pitched very well." Price said after Tuesday's game. "All of the sudden we're not pitching well and giving the other team opportunities like today."
Edited by Kate Larrabee
MLB
Freshman shortstop Kevin Kurtz slides into home during the seventh inning rally defeating Arkansas-Little Rock Tuesday. The Jayhawks will play at 6pm today at Hollang Ballpark against Missouri State.
Mike Gunnoe/XANSAN
Pitcher throws watchers for a loop with ambidextrous pitching style
KISSIMMEE. Fla. — Pat Vendite can see why he's such a curiosity. It's not every day that a pitcher throws with both arms. Vendite offf her whip.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Venditte showed off his ambi-
---
dextrous talents for the New York Yankees Tuesday, giving up one run in 1 1-3 innings during a 9-6 split-squad loss to the Atlanta Braves. "I under-
"I understand where
"I've never seen anything like that. I felt like we kept changing pitchers before I figured out what was happening."
it's coming from," Venditte said.
- "And it's my job to go out there
- and prove that I can pitch"
CC SABATHIA Yankees pitcher
Making his first appearance for the Yankees, Venditte took over for CC Sabathia with two outs in the fifth inning and tossed four warmup pitches with each hand. Venditte switched back and forth, depending on whether he was facing a righty or lefty, and gave up two hits and a walk.
figured out what was happening."
"I think I have to," he said. "I don't have overpowering stuff from either side, so I think I really need this."
If he makes the majors, Venditte wouldn't be the first pitcher to throw as a left-hander and right-hander. Greg Harris, who pitched for Cincinnati, Montreal, San Diego, Texas, Philadelphia,
The 24-year-old reliever, who uses a six-finger glove, pitched for two teams in Class A last season and went a combined 4-2 with 22 saves and a 1.87 ERA. He is scheduled to begin the season at Class A Tampa.
Sabathia said he knew the Yankees had an ambidextrous pitcher in their organization, but did a double take when Venditte took the mound.
"I've never seen anything like hat," Sabathia said. "I felt like we ept changing pitchers before I
Boston and the
Douglas and the Yankees from 1981-95, was a righty throughout his career. He pitched from the left side for two batters in the second-to-last game of his career.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi had
said he wanted to watch Venditte throw this spring and asked that the pitcher be sent over from the minor league complex for an exhibition game.
Venditte started out as a righty
in the fifth and retired Yunel Escobar on a grounder to end the inning.
In the sixth,
Vendite pitched
right-handed to
Matt Diaz
and gave up a
single. Vendite
shifted to a lefty
and fielded Nate
in the major league opener Sunday night at Boston, allowing five runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. He has a 7.23 ERA this spring.
"I am just trying to pitch my game," he said. "I'll work on my adjustments in the spring a little different than a regular season game."
Sabathia said he isn't concerned about his high ERA.
The World Series champions open the season against the Red Sox.
"That's what I am preparing for," Sabathia said. "Sunday night at Fenway will be crazy like it always is at Fenway, I'll be ready."
Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami pitched five innings, allowing five hits and one earned run. He was scheduled to go longer but he developed a blister on his right index finger and manager Bobby Cox decided to take him out as a precaution.
Vendite complimented catcher Jorge Posada.
It was the final
"I understand where it's coming from. And it's my job to go out there and prove that I can pitch."
McLouth's sacrifice bunt
"Jorge did a good job of keeping me calm," he said.
Later in the inning, switch-hitter Brooks Conrad came to the plate and by rule Venditte had to declare in advance how he would pitch. He went right, Conrad batted lefty and grounded out.
Sabathia tuned up for his start
PAT VENDITTE Yankees pitcher
spring training game for Kawakami, who is expected to pitch in a minor league game next week before making his first start of the season. April 11 at San Francisco
"He has a zipper slider this year," Cox said. "When he gets his sinker going he's going to be something."
going he's going to be something.
Clint Sammons hit his first homer of the spring in the fourth off Sabathia. Troy Glaus uped his spring average to .372 with two doubles and Melky Cabrera also had two hits against his former teammates.
Nick Swisher and Posada homered for the Yankees.
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TENNIS
Jayhawks travel to Manhattan
BY KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
twitter.com/kgier
Both the Kansas and Kansas State tennis teams hold a 1-3 record in the Big 12 this season. The Jayhawks are hoping to change that when they play Kansas State in Manhattan at 2 p.m. today.
"I think we are all ready and we are getting better and better each match we play. I think we will come out with a lot of energy as a team," sophomore Kate Morozova said.
The jayhawks struggled this weekend, winning a close 4-3 decision against Iowa State, but falling 6-2 to No. 46 Nebraska.
The team has been focusing recently on the mental aspects of the game, especially finishing important points.
"That is the biggest thing right
now, mentally preparing ourselves," coach Amy Hall-Holt said. "With any athlete you have to prepare yourself and you have to focus on
the time for you and keep working in that direction."
Kansas State also defeated Iowa State in a 4-3 decision over the weekend, which broke a six-match losing streak. The Wildcats are 4-8 overall.
still ranked including Colorado, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Baylor. The Jayhawks have yet to
"We have got to keep going as if the person across the net doesn't matter."
AMY HALL-HOLT Coach
The Jayhawks will be on the road for their next three matches, playing Kansas State, the University of Missouri and the University of Colorado, which is ranked No. 71 in the country.
According to Tuesday's Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rankings, seven Big 12 teams are
face four of the seven.
"We want to win as much as we can. Regardless of ranking or no ranking, we have to have a high level of intensity and
that is what we strive for," Hall-Holt said. "We have got to keep going as if the person across the net doesn't matter. Who they are or where they come from, it is about competing to the highest level."
Edited by Katie Blankenau
Just for kicks!
Kickball
TOURNAMENT
Noon-6 p.m. April 18 Lyons Park, Lawrence $10 (includes T-shirt and snacks)
This kickball tournament is designed to bring KU students and alumni together in the spirit of good healthy competition! Proceeds from the event will go toward Student Programs at the KU Alumni Association.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Student Alumni Leadership Board Sign your team up by April 7 at www.kualumni.org/students